On the new Syrian government

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad yesterday accepted the resignation of the prime minister Muhammad Mustafa Miro and assigned the speaker of the Syrian parliament Naji Otari to form a new government.

In August, the Syrian President announced the acceleration of the reform program which will be the main task of the new government. He stressed the need of drawing the appropriate mechanism to complete the administrative reforms in its being the main entrance to achieve this objective.

This is, however, the first governmental reshuffle in Syria, since President Bashar al-Assad assumed presidency in 2000, in succession of his late father President Hafez al-Assad. Immediately after he had assumed power in Syria, President al-Assad declared a vast reform program, but certain people criticized this government as too slow in its implementation of these plans.

Several weeks ago, President al-Assad made a limited ministerial reshuffle that covered the two ministers of the economy and finance but he kept the prime minister and the main political figures in their posts.

Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade Ghassan Rifaee had recently announced that he wants to accelerate steps of economic reforms but added that Syria does not intend to push forward towards privatization.